Paul Finebaum raves over Mike Elko after Texas A&M's win over LSU
Since suffering a 23-13 loss to Notre Dame in Week 1, Texas A&M has won seven straight games, most recently defeating No. 8 LSU 38-23. On Sunday, Paul Finebaum explained why head coach Mike Elko is exactly what the Aggies have been looking for.
“It’s a very culture-related school, and Elko fits that culture,” Finebaum said. “They’re no-nonsense. Jimbo Fisher was just your classic B.S.-er. He wasn’t a serious coach. He was a politician.
“He was referring to [Fisher] last night after the game when he said, ‘I’m not a politician. I’m not a B.S.-er.’ He just coaches football. And I know that’s like a cliche you can get anywhere you want. But that’s what they wanted out there because they want serious people. They want people that know how to do it, not who will tell you how it’s going to be done.”
Mike Elko knows how to do it, and do it well. In the Aggies’ win on Saturday, they trailed the Tigers 17-7 at halftime. However, they dominated the second half, outgaining LSU by 83 yards while forcing the Tigers to commit three turnovers.
More impressive, Texas mounted the comeback largely without a passing threat. The Aggies only connected on 8-of-their-20 passing attempts in the win and, instead, relied heavily on their ground game.
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Texas A&M finished the game with 242 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Amari Daniels led the way, averaging 7.6 yards per carry and collecting 91 total rushing yards. Finebaum believes this season may only be the first glimpse of a bright future for Texas A&M.
“We may be seeing something that we’ve been wondering about forever, and that’s with all the resources that A&M has — there’s really only one school that has more resources, and that’s the school down the road in Austin — can Texas A&M ever break through? And they’re on the verge of it because what we saw in the second half last night was unbelievable,” Finebaum said.
Texas A&M and Texas will square off in the final week of the regular season. However, before the Aggies can look too far ahead, they must face off against South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will air live on ABC.